Meet Jim and Larry

Jim Knight, Co-Founder

Jim learned values of discipline, organization, and goal-setting at a very young age.  The son of a career Army Officer, he attended West Point, graduated in 1983, and served ten years as an Airborne/Ranger Infantry Officer.  He completed his military service working with General Powell's Joint Staff in the Pentagon 1990-93, where he assisted in planning Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and many humanitarian relief operations in Former Soviet Republics.  Jim settled in San Diego in 1993 where he acquired a franchise retail sporting goods company.  He later expanded into Los Angeles then sold the company and moved into corporate finance with Morgan Stanley from 1997 to 1999 and was an independent registered principal until 2003.  Jim is currently a private investor in real estate and various business projects. 
      
2002 Death Ride near Lake Tahoe                                         

On the athletic side, Jim has been active all his life. His major accomplishments include twelve marathons with a Personal Record (PR) of 2:33:34 at the 1992 Marine Corps Marathon.  He has raced in over 60 triathlons and five Ironman distance races, including two Hawaii Ironman finishes in 1995 (PR 9:55) and 2003. He has many century rides including the Death Ride in 2002 and Breathless Agony in 2003.  In July 2004, Jim rode the inaugural Shadow Tour with partner Larry Gitman, replicating the entire three week 2004 Tour De France in Southern California.  In October 2004 Jim again teamed up with Larry as "Team Yak" at the 21st annual Furnace Creek 508 mile race through Death Valley.  The rookie team won their division and set a new course record for a Two-Man, 50+ Team, by over 30 minutes.  Jim and Larry returned in 2005 with two new teammates and established a new course record for the Four-Man, 50+ Team.  In the blazing Southern California heat in July of 2006, Jim experienced the ultimate Shadow Tour by completing a solo replication of the entire 2006 Tour De France.  In July 2007, Jim completed another solo Shadow Tour, including the 6 fearsome 400 km stages in the original 1903 Tour De France race.  Jim lives in San Diego, CA.
  

 
2006 Solo Shadow Tour at Box Canyon, CA                         2004 Furnace Creek 508 Team Yak at CA City, CA

Stagecoach Century Individual Time Trials:

Larry Gitman, Co-Founder

After 32 years in academics, Larry Gitman at age 57 retired as Professor of Finance at San Diego State University in May 2004 in order to devote more time to his two great passions--textbook writing and ultracycling.  He is the author or co-author of eight major college texts ranging from an eleventh edition (first published in 1976) to a first edition (published in 2006).  His books have been used by well over 1 million students and he continues to actively write and revise his numerous successful texts.

Larry has been involved in ultracycling for many years. He has completed numerous centuries and double centuries and qualified to participate in Paris-Brest-Paris in 1987, but decided not to go. He has completed the famed Markleeville Death Ride 4 times, the Spooktacular, and the Breathless Agony rides.  He has earned the California Triple Crown 6 times between 1998 and 2006.  Larry was a member (at age 55) of Team San Diego--a four-man RAAM team with an average age of 46 that completed the Portland, OR to Pensacola, FL route in 2002 in 6 days, 20 hours, and 3 minutes.  He has also done three PAC Tours--the Eastern Mountain (2000), the Ridge of the Rockies (2004), and in October 2006 the Southern Transcontinental, traveling 2,920 miles from San Diego to Tybee Island Georgia in 26 days.

In addition he rode the Leadville 100K Vertical in 2003 and attended week 2 of Arizona Desert Training Camp in 2004.  He also participated with his business partner, Jim Knight, in the inaugural Shadow Tour in July 2004.  Larry, in addition to his authorship activities and his role as a managing member of Shadow Tour LLC, continues to ride many miles regularly. He particularly enjoys climbing long and steep grades.  In October 2004 Larry again teamed up with Jim as "Team Yak" at the 21st annual Furnace Creek 508 Mile race through Death Valley.  Larry battled a grueling overnight windstorm on a seven hour ascent up and over Jubilee and Salsberry Passes, which contributed to a rare rookie team win and established a new course record for a Two-Man, 50+ Team, by over 30 minutes.  In the 2005 Furnace Creek 508, Larry, with partner Jim Knight and two others, again riding as Team Yak, set the course record for a Four-Man 50+ Team of 26 hours, 45 minutes.  In June 2007, Larry's "Team 60 Going Hard" 4-man 60+ team earned second place honors at RAAM, in a time faster than the prevous record.  The official finishing time for Team 60 was 7 Days 3 Hours 11 Minutes.

On a personal level, Larry has been married to Robin for 36 years and they have two grown children--Zachary and Jessica.  He and Robin along with their two cats reside in La Jolla, CA. He remains professionally active in a number of academic and professional finance organizations.

 
Larry & Robin Gitman enjoying the 2007 post race banquet in Atlantic City, New Jersey